In
October 2003, Florida Governor Jeb Bush announced that The Scripps
Research Institute, a private biomedical research organization
based in La Jolla, California, had chosen Palm Beach County
as the location for its new East Coast facility.

Scripps’
350,000-square-foot Florida headquarters opened in February 2009 in Jupiter (northern Palm Beach
County). Scripps Research Institute Florida is one
of the largest animal research facilities in the state, using
thousands of animals in experiments each year.

Animal
research at Scripps The Scripps Research Institute is the largest private research
institution in the United States. According to U.S. Department
of Agriculture (USDA) records, The Scripps Research Institute
reported using less than 250 animals—rabbits and guinea pigs—in experiments in 2010. But this number
does not include tens of thousands of mice and rats in Scripps
labs, animals who are not provided even minimal protection under
federal regulations. (Scripps does not report its use of mice
and rats to the USDA.) photo: rat in a Scripps laboratory.

Please read below for details on how you can get involved.

According to a report obtained by the South Florida Sun-Sentinel,
in 2004 inspectors from the U.S. Department of Agriculture found
several serious problems at Scripps' primate laboratory in La
Jolla, California.

Government
inspectors found that monkeys used in a study of the drug MDMA,
or "Ecstasy," were fed less than 30% of the food they
should have received. The inspectors noted that Scripps researchers
ignored the advice of its own veterinarian concerning proper nutrition
for monkeys.

One
monkey died after receiving more than twice the approved dosage
of Ecstasy. Inspectors also found that drugs used in the experiments
had expired, and that living conditions for monkeys were inadequate.
Scripps was forced to temporarily suspend the research in March
2004.

In
its 2004 annual report, Scripps reported to the USDA that five
monkeys were involved in experiments producing pain and/or distress
in the animals that was not alleviated by painkillers (research
institutions are required to report these statistics).

Unfortunately,
research using monkeys and other animals to study human drug abuse
continues at The Scripps Research Institute.

“How
should we relate to beings who look into mirrors and see themselves
as individuals, who mourn companions and may die of grief, who
have a consciousness of 'self?'
Don't they deserve to be treated with the same sort of consideration
we accord to other highly sensitive beings: ourselves?”–
Dr.
Jane Goodall

Chimpanzees
are an endangered species, and our closest genetic relatives.
Chimpanzee intelligence, self-awareness, social behavior and emotions
are well understood. Unfortunately, The Scripps Research Institute
continues to use these complex animals in experiments.

The
Animal Rights Foundation of Florida is calling upon Scripps to
commit not to participate in experiments that involve chimpanzees
or other great apes.

Francis
Chisari. Francis
Chisari, M.D., is Head of Scripps' Division of Experimental Pathology.
Dr.
Chisari has been at Scripps since the early 1970s, and since at
least 1973 he's been infecting chimpanzees with the hepatitis
B and C viruses.

A
2002 study was typical of Dr. Chisari's research using chimpanzees.
Six healthy chimpanzees were infected with hepatitis C. Blood
samples and liver biopsies were taken on a weekly basis, and the
“progress” of the virus infection was monitored. Several
chimpanzees in the study developed chronic infections.

Animal
experiments are not necessary in studying how hepatitis C infects
or affects humans. Humans and chimpanzees are very similar, yet
their few differences are very important. Chimpanzees can be infected
with hepatitis C, as they can with other viruses that infect humans,
but chimpanzees respond to the virus differently than humans.

In
the development of vaccines, the use of chimpanzees and other
animals has often led to misleading conclusions. Most of the approximately
1,200 chimps in U.S. labs were bred in the 1980s to be used in
AIDS research. Millions of dollars was spent in the hopes of developing
an AIDS vaccine before researchers concluded that chimpanzees
are of little value in the search for a cure (while chimps can
be infected with HIV, the virus rarely makes them ill). Sadly,
the search for a hepatitis C vaccine has long languished because
research has focused on chimpanzees and other animals.

The
United States is one of the only remaining countries to use chimpanzees
in research. Many countries around the world, including Great
Britain, New Zealand, Sweden, and The Netherlands, have prohibited
research on great apes (chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas and orangutans).
(see “Chimps Deserve Better,” The Humane Society of the United States.)

An
end to Scripps' experiments on chimpanzees?In
July 2005, a research team led by Dr. Chisari announced an exciting
development: a method of creating a hepatitis C virus infection
of cells in vitro (in an artificial environment).

The
groundbreaking cell culture system accurately replicates what
the hepatitis C virus does in the liver of infected humans.“The
lifecycle of the virus is now completely open to us,” said
Dr. Chisari. Dr. Chisari predicted the new system would contribute
to a “deeper understanding” of the hepatits C virus,
and “greatly accelerate” the search for a vaccine,
as well as drugs to treat people already infected.

What
does this mean for Scripps' use of chimpanzees? We hope that Dr.
Chisari will continue his research using this promising non-animal
method, and abandon the use of animals.

photo:
"Debbie" suffered for years in laboratories. She is
now living at Save
The Chimps, a sanctuary in Florida for chimpanzees rescued
from the laboratory.

There
is good news! Many
of Scripps' scientists are skilled at the use of sophisticated
computer modeling in studying disease, and Scripps Florida’s
research programs will include genomics (the study of an organism's
genetic makeup and the use of the genes) and other areas of scientific
research that usually do not involve the use of live animals.
This research is the way of the future, and we hope this is where
Scripps will focus its efforts.

The
Animal Rights Foundation of Florida has been following the development
of Scripps Research Institute Florida since the project was announced
in 2003.

Although
we believe all animals have the right to not be exploited
as experimental subjects, we have made reasonable requests that
would benefit animals in Scripps’ labs:

—An
End to Research on Chimpanzees.
AFFF is urging The Scripps Research Institute to commit not to
conduct or participate in research that involves the use of chimpanzees
or other great apes, in Florida or elsewhere. Opposition to the
use of great apes in invasive research is widespread, even in
the scientific community. The United States is one of the few
remaining countries in the world where chimpanzees are used in
biomedical research. Please
join us in urging Scripps to abandon the use of chimpanzees, and
instead focus on in vitro and human-based research

—A
Voice for Animals on Institutional Animal Committee.
ARFF has requested that an animal welfare advocate be added to
Scripps Florida’s Institutional Animal Care & Use Committee
(IACUC). The federal Animal Welfare Act requires that facilities
establish an IACUC to “provide representation for general
community interests in the proper care and treatment of animals.”
The committee’s role is to assess the research facility
and to critically evaluate research protocols. The Act stipulates
that at least one member of the committee must be unaffiliated
with the research facility.

—Public
Accountability.
Considering the significant financial support of Scripps by the
State of Florida and Palm Beach County (over $500 million in public
money!), and in light of Scripps’ 2004 USDA citation for
mistreatment of animals, Scripps has an obligation to be open
about their use of animals in Florida. ARFF
has asked Scripps to produce publicly available annual reports
which include the following information about animal research
conducted in Florida:
•
The number and species of animals used, including animals not
covered by the federal Animal Welfare Act;
• How Scripps scientists justify the use of animals, and
why non-animal alternatives were rejected.